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Delivering on the first of two parts in a controversial federal aid package, the House of Representatives passed a $9.7 billion Hurricane Sandy relief bill Friday by a large margin — 354 to 67. And yet, we can't help but ask: Who are those 67 jerks? They have a few things in common. They're all Republicans. Many of them are Republicans who voted against John Boehner as Speaker of the House, or were rumored to be considering voting against him. And here's a shocker: They're not from the states hit hardest by Sandy.
Paul Ryan. Ryan, Mitt Romney's running mate last year, is a potential presidential candidate for 2016. Like all potential presidential candidates serving in Congress, that means from time to time he'll have to cast a series of potentially politically perilous votes. Fellow maybe-2016er Marco Rubio voted against the deal to fix the fiscal cliff earlier this week, for example, while Ryan voted for it. (Photo via Talking Points Memo's Sahil Kapur.)
The Would-be Boehner Ousters. Of the nine Republicans who voted against John Boehner in his election as speaker Thursday, eight voted against the Sandy bill: Kansas's Tim Huelskamp, Texas's Louie Gohmert, Georgia's Paul Broun, Oklahoma's Jim Bridenstine, Florida's Ted Yoho, New Mexico's Steve Pearce, Kentucky's Thomas Massie, and Michigan's Justin Amash. Texas's Steve Stockman, who voted "present" in the speaker vote, also voted against the Sandy bill. They've gotta register their unhappiness somehow.